Palermo Shooting (2008)

After the wild life-style of a famous young German photographer almost gets him killed, he goes to Palermo, Sicily to take a break. Can the beautiful city and a beautiful local woman help him calm himself down?

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Wim Wenders, Norman Ohler,

Stars:

Campino, Inga Busch, Giovanna Mezzogiorno

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Campino	...	Finn
Inga Busch	...	Karla
Axel Sichrovsky	...	Hans
Gerhard Gutberlet	...	Gerhard
Harry Blain	...	Harry
Sebastian Blomberg	...	Julian
Jana Pallaske	...	Student
Olivia Asiedu-Poku	...	Fan
Melika Foroutan	...	Anke
Anna Orso	...	Mother
Lou Reed	...	Himself
Udo Samel	...	Banker
Giuseppe Provinzano	...	Actor 1
Guiseppe Massa	...	Actor 2
Giovanna Mezzogiorno	...	Flavia

Storyline

After the wild life-style of a famous young German photographer almost gets him killed, he goes to Palermo, Sicily to take a break. Can the beautiful city and a beautiful local woman help him calm himself down?

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Plot Keywords:

place name in title | city name in title | fast motion sequence | photographer | death

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [jp] Senator Film [de]

Country:

Germany France Italy

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

20 November 2008 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Fotografies sto Palermo

Filming Locations:

Düsseldorf, North Rhine - Westphalia, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Neue Road Movies, P.O.R. Sicilia, arte France Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min 124 min 108 min (re-cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film marks the first time that Director Wenders shot a movie in his hometown, Düsseldorf.

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Goofs

In the scene, when Finn talks with lady photographer, they discuss the age of their cameras. He tells that his Plaubel is twenty years old and she tells that her Leica is 40 years old. Actually she has Leica M7, which slightly differs from older Leica cameras. This camera marketed only in 2002.

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Connections

Referenced in TV total: Episode dated 18 February 2009 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Smaulpaul (Maximum Cut)"
Written by Martin Gretschmann
Performed by Console
Published by Flirt 99 Musikverlag / Edition Console
Courtesy of Smaul Paul records

User Reviews

Because he could not stop for me, I kindly stopped for Death

This is easily Wim Wender's most pretentious movie to date, and that's saying a lot given that Wenders is perhaps the most pretentious director of his generation. There is so much symbolic Mumbo-Jumbo I don't know where to begin: Dungeons. Coffins. Dead people. Ghosts. Including Lou Reed as a black-and-white specter of himself. Flocks of sheep. A shape-shifting city skyline. Hooded strangers, shooting arrows and causing crashes. All of which I have seen before, and with more panache: In "Dark City", in Cronenberg's "Crash", Paul Auster's "Lulu on the Bridge", Tom Tykwer's "Winter Sleepers", even in TV's "Lost". I'm not even mentioning "The Devil's Advocate". At the height of his self-importance, Wenders has Dennis Hopper, in the part of Death himself, make a speech about the merits of analog photography. Sounds ridiculous? Go figure. But the weakest link is Wender's choice of Campino as photographer Finn Gilbert, the lead character. Campino, a German rock star in his day job, may be photogenic in an aging toy boy way, but an actor he sure is not. Anything he says sounds like a line from a script, and the script is weak enough to begin with. Wenders asks too much of him, and too little of his co-lead Giovanna Mezzogiornio, a fine actress restricted to sleepy smiles and sullen glances in this movie. Charming guest appearances by Jana Pallaske as a feisty arts student, Inga Busch as a sexy swimming instructor in Ugg boots and a bathing suit, and by the divine Milla Jovovich as her glamorous self. Nice enough soundtrack, featuring Bonnie Prince Billy, Nick Cave, and The Velvet Underground. Watch with your eyes closed.